


Oh Darling

by clemenbn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Arithmancy (Harry Potter), But Still Normal Draco, Divination, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Love after Loss, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pansy Redemption, Romance, Self-Discovery, Sex, Sexual Content, Smut, Soft Draco, Some Action but not really enough to claim this is an Action Novel, Theo Fluff, Unrequited Love, You know what I mean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:00:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clemenbn/pseuds/clemenbn
Summary: There’s a famous saying, from a novel Hermoine’s parents used to read to her as a child, that was resonating with her more in this moment than it had ever before in her life:“Everything has to come to an end, sometimes.”And this was exactly that. The end.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Oh Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely, lovely readers! This is the start of a new fic of mine. I have had some of these words saved for months, others for the last 30 minutes or so. This fic is going to be a coming-of-age, dealing-with-grief, finding-oneself type of novel that I am hoping will move you to tears, make you furious, and fill you with profound happiness at various points along the way.
> 
> I am editing all of this myself and proofing/fixing as the chapters are published, so please be kind and understand that I am a human with rather clumsy fingers and sometimes things are worded/spelled wrong.
> 
> Also, all of these chapters will be named after songs by Passenger. If you've never heard of them or listened to their songs, I highly suggest you do.
> 
> Please enjoy xx Brit
> 
> (P.S. This first chapter is rather short as it's acting as a prologue of sorts. They get longer as the story goes on!)

**4 Years After the Battle at Hogwarts; December 24th, 2002**  
There’s a famous saying, from a novel Hermoine’s parents used to read to her as a child, that was resonating with her more in this moment than it had ever before in her life: _“Everything has to come to an end, sometimes.”_

And this was exactly that. The end.

As she stared blankly at the tombstone in front of her, she wondered how she had gotten herself here, sitting cross-legged on the outskirts of The Burrow reading _Arithmancy and Numerology: The Interpretation of Interpretations_ out loud. Ron would’ve hated this novel. She smiled softly at the thought.

Snow was starting to fall in heavier flakes around her, dusting Ron and Fred’s tombstones ever so lightly. She snuggled deeper into her fleece-lined parka and closed the book in her hands. She continued to stare at the engravings in front of her, trying to make sense of her new normal.

It had been almost 5 months since everything had come crumbling down. She had just gotten off work and flooed home for the evening, a folder full of transcripts she was meant to comb over that weekend. She wouldn’t even have a chance to open that folder because the minute she stepped through the fireplace; she had come face-to-face with a tear-stricken Harry sitting on her couch. Her stomach had dropped. She knew.

It was a capture gone wrong. They had been on the tail end of an Ex-Death Eater who had taken the lives of 3 Muggleborns in Barnet. They were racing through the woods after him and the man had thrown _Avada_ backward faster than anyone could’ve reacted. It hit him square in the chest and Harry had to helplessly watch the whole event unfold. 

The days after his death were a blur to Hermoine. She spent the following month at The Burrow, keeping afloat alongside his family. Though her and Ron hadn’t been engaged or married yet, that was always their plan. Selfishly, Hermoine had pushed Ron not to ask her so soon – they were so young and had a lifetime ahead of them. Now more than ever she wished he’d ignored her requests.

Harry and Ginny had been by her side through it all, grieving at the loss of their friend, their brother, for the future of their family. 

Those first few weeks were tough. Restless nights, endless pits in her stomach, a never-ending amount of pitying glances cast her way whenever she was at work.

But it slowly got better. While the hurt was always there, present in the twist that sat nestled in her stomach, she found herself being able to go on trips to Hogsmeade without feeling bitter, revel at a new arrival at Flourish and Blotts without feeling guilty. It was never easy, but it had gotten better.

This was the first Christmas without him, though, and the holidays had brought on a whole new wave of grieving. Ron wouldn’t be there to open up the matching sweaters Molly would’ve inevitably knitted for them. She wouldn’t receive a cheesy, not-at-all what she would’ve wanted gift from him – typically something related to books, magical creatures, or a combination of the two. She wouldn’t be able to pepper him with early morning kisses, wear their matching Christmas flannels, wipe the whipped cream off his lip.

That would never happen ever again. 

Hermoine sighed, wiping one stray tear away with her mittened hand. “I bloody miss you, Ronald,” she smiled and placed a kiss on his tombstone before standing up and brushing the snow dust off her jeans. 

With one bleary-eyed glance at the two tombstones, she turned around, gripped her arithmancy book tighter, and started her trek back to The Burrow where Harry and the rest of the Weasleys were waiting for her.


End file.
